Mac mini 2018 Reviews Roundup: Long-Awaited Update Should Impress Fans and Pro Users, But Upgrade Options Can Get Pricey

[Sputman99]

All I would like to use on this is Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Final Cut Pro ( which should work fine ) - I thinks its the 3D content creation using GPU that i'm interested in. I know there is a 5 x bar for Maya in the advert for the mini - but does anyone have any experience of the use of the 3d using the integrated GPU with Maya and 3D?

 

[falainber]

Conversely, Intel always manages to find an excuse not ship a complete lineup of CPUs when introducing a new product family. Or even a cutting edge CPU, like a 10nm CPU that is 2 years overdue...but I digress.

As for GPUs, what are the best GPUs currently shipping that Apple could incorporate into this design? Wait, never mind...when you say the best GPUs in the generic sense, what I think you really mean is "the best NVIDIA GPUs", or am I wrong?

The latest Intel CPUs are by definition the cutting edge CPUs. Intel releases dozens of CPUs every year (compared to Apple's two). Apple waits quarters (and sometimes years) to pick up the latest ones. The reasons are different but always lame: redesign of motherboard would be required, redesign of the case would be required. So? Redesign it. Apple has its own ideas. They stick with the same case design for years and wait until "proper" CPU shows up in Intel line-up.

And yes, the best GPUs are NVIDIA GPUs right now. For some reason, Apple prefers the inferior GPUs from AMD.

 

[Zdigital2015]

"Geekbench results are very strong. The i7 Mac Mini scored better on single-core performance than every other Mac today (!) at 5912, and its multi-core score of nearly 24,740 beats every Mac to date except the iMac Pro and the old 12-core 2013 Mac Pro."

Ah the 2012 Mac Pro with dual Xeon X5690 processors is still faster, it has a multi-core score of up to 27,029.

Maybe so, but that is a DIY upgrade as Apple never offered the 5,1 Mac Pro with that particular CPU. The flip side of that sweet multi-core score is the abysmal single-core performance users had to deal with, depending on their workload.

 

[groadyho]

I like the form factor: plenty of folks use them without many external peripherals, and/or in use cases where there's a benefit to the small dimensions, some folks like myself aren't really that concerned the with size (you know, within reason ...) and like having external components that are easily arranged/stored/placed independently of the "core" machine. Cables/workspaces are easily managed, you've got some minimum cable needs (power/display) and if you're really into the most cable-free aesthetic, you're probably a candidate for an AIO.

I mean, I'm pretty neat with my desk, but I've got two displays (and their cables), a USB device or two, audio out to a little tube amp (wired HD650s). Two little boxes for the machine + eGPU isn't much different than one bigger box in terms of my overall cable-ness

My custom gaming rig is a mess 3 monitors speakers, gaming pad and cables for the entertainment side go all the way into the living room. Was just trying to understand the purpose of the mini.

 

[MacWorld78]

Because they don't want you to upgrade them?

Just because they don't want "User upgrade them" but rather force you to pay more for stupid overpriced that leave you no choice? do you think it's a fair business model?

 

[megascott]

i7 FTW!

Twice as many Threads (the i7 is the only one of the 3 CPUs that supports Hyperthreading. This also can reduce latency in high-demand applications. Good for Lots of LPX Tracks!!!)

Turbo Boost up to a full GHz above the i3's clock (which does NOT boost!)

But my main concern is heat, which will cause the fan to run. I can't have a noisy fan while trying to record voice over. Doesn't i7 run hotter than i3 or i5?

 

[Sabelonada]

My custom gaming rig is a mess 3 monitors speakers, gaming pad and cables for the entertainment side go all the way into the living room. Was just trying to understand the purpose of the mini.

Do you want a 4th monitor? Especially the beautiful yet glossy one an iMac provides?

The Mac mini is a powerful, not inexpensive yet fairly priced, computing appliance that can be a decent workstation or media server. It would go great in the living room and be loads more flexible than an Apple TV.

It is not a great game machine without an eGPU. But most people who game don't do so on Macs anyhow.

It's the powerful, compact Mac I was hoping they would make.
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All I would like to use on this is Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Final Cut Pro ( which should work fine ) - I thinks its the 3D content creation using GPU that i'm interested in. I know there is a 5 x bar for Maya in the advert for the mini - but does anyone have any experience of the use of the 3d using the integrated GPU with Maya and 3D?

You're probably best off with an eGPU.

 

[Populus]

is every journalist bought by Apple that no one is writing any critical article about the Mac Mini and complete Mac line.
Why is every one so happy to get a one year old 8th gen i7 instead of a 9th gen i7 with 8 Cores.
If i spend thousands of euros or dollars, I want to have the newest hardware with a great dedicated graphic card.
The enthusiasm for the 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, reminds me the articles of the Mac Pro in 2013. But at the end it was a dead end that is still sold for an incredible prize. For me that are just 4 USB ports - should be that standard for a desktop PC?

I really like macOS as an operating system, I love to use it, but unfortunately Apple destroying it with no strategy in the Mac line. Mostly old hardware for too high prices.

Why do you think they got access to the hardware before anyone else? Apple gave them new hardware a week before shipping, just to have critical reviews hitting the press for the launch day? Nope.

All I hope is the true reviewers and tech influencers to show how 128gb of base storage is garbage.

 

[imageWIS]

Read the link:

https://ark.intel.com/products/series/122593/8th-Generation-Intel-Core-i7-Processors

This part of your argument is invalidated: "It's not even really fair to blame Apple for not putting a separate dGPU in the new Mini considering the power budget of a decent (say GTX 1050Ti) GPU is more than the 6-core CPU!" Apologies if I wasn't clear.

It's 2018 and this is supposed to be a desktop computer, for what Apple is charging, they could have put even a middling dGPU in there. I mean, they kept the same form factor from almost 9 years ago and just changed the color... they had to do almost no extra tooling or engineering work. If they REALLY don't come out with a real Mac Pro tower, I'm pretty much done with them. And I have used Apple computers since grade school AND bought myself a Newton when I was in middle school, to say nothing of the myriad of MacBooks / Airs (well, one Air) / MBPs, Mac minis, iMacs and 6 six iPhones. About a 20 year long client and I'm very, VERY tempted to say bye-bye.

Next time they claim they spent $13 billion in R&D you can tell them to shove up their...

 

[Sabelonada]

Just because they don't want "User upgrade them" but rather force you to pay more for stupid overpriced that leave you no choice? do you think it's a fair business model?

Fair or not, it's Apple's business model. I am not overly thrilled with it but I may still buy a Mac again.

 

[imageWIS]

Why do you think they got access to the hardware before anyone else? Apple gave them new hardware a week before shipping, just to have critical reviews hitting the press for the launch day? Nope.

All I hope is the true reviewers and tech influencers to show how 128gb of base storage is garbage.

+ Eleventy billion. considering what the retail cost is of NVMe SSDs are, and the massive discount Apple gets for ordering in massive quantities, the base amount they give AND what they charge for upgrades is obscene.

This is very clearly Tim Cook & Co. trying to offset lackluster sales income by increasing prices. It doesn't work. EVEN if Apple moves to their own GPUs, someone, somewhere will find a way for it to work (like Mojave works on AMD Ryzen) and more and more people (read: pros) will move towards Hackintoshes or into another OS altogether.

 

[Stephen.R]

Yep, OWC Mini Stack, just needs to be Space Gray and TB3

I wonder how much power the Mini's TB3 ports provide. If those stacks could draw the full 100w from the Mini itself, you'd get quite a tidy (in terms of cabling) setup. Perhaps one model with SATA3 connectors, one with m2's?

They fit a decent Radeon Pro 560 4096 MB I'm my MacBook somewhere - so I don't think it would be too difficult - it doesn't need to be a monster just a laptop version - with some cooling.

I'm not saying someone won't make that, but I'm not sure who the target market is. The people willing to pay for an eGPU are likely going to want a full desktop card, no?

 

[harriska2]

I honestly think the number of "switchers" like that is dwindling. "Average" individual (i.e. home/student/small business) users are moving to portable devices - either laptops or tablets.

I think the time of trying to convince PC users to switch to a Mac is kind of over - they're more likely to focus on switching those users to an iPad. I'm not saying this is the right or wrong strategy for Apple or the consumer, but its what I think they're doing.

There is/will be some collateral damage for some users. My parents just bought a 2014 model because their 2009 model (a hand me down from me) cooked it's CPU. If they'd been looking now, it would be a more expensive machine, which honestly they don't need.

Hubby’s octogenarian parents and 60 yo brother are all on 2009/10 24 inch imacs. They are rock solid.

 

[Stephen.R]

true reviewers and tech influencers

Can someone tell me what this means....

 

[joolsyp]

I've sprung for the 3.2 6-core i7, 16 GB RAM (yeah, I know, didn't fancy invalidating the warranty), 512 SSD (same as my current setup plus I have a 1 TB USB-C G-Drive SSD) and the bog-standard ethernet. I already have an ASUS Designo 4k monitor with Thunderbolt 3 input.

What I'm looking for is advice on an eGPU to help with (a) casual gaming and (b) video editing in either/or FCP X and Adobe Prem Pro. Someone mentioned the Blackmagic Pro withe Vega 56 but that's not upgradeable right? Any other recommendations? The ones I've seen look so clunky, possibly sound loud and aren't cheap!!

 

[Stephen.R]

Hubby’s octogenarian parents and 60 yo brother are all on 2009/10 24 inch imacs. They are rock solid.

This was kind of my thought too when they first said the Mini had died. A 21" non-retina would work a treat for them, particularly when considering the display they're using is a 20" Apple LCD I bought with my PowerMac in 2003, so it's not exactly a spring chicken either.

 

[harriska2]

This was kind of my thought too when they first said the Mini had died. A 21" non-retina would work a treat for them, particularly when considering the display they're using is a 20" Apple LCD I bought with my PowerMac in 2003, so it's not exactly a spring chicken either.

You can pick up another 24” imac for a song and upgrade the drive to ssd and put more memory in. We keep all the old foggies (the machines, not people ) on el cap. Our 2009 mac mini bore a second life with those 2 upgrades. Hell, my 2011 home made pc got a second life with the same upgrade.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Calm down. I've never seen a Mac mini before. It just doesn't make sense to buy a mini and then have to add all the externals to it taking up more spcae than a tower to get to the same place.

Welcome to Planet Earth!!!

Never seen a Mac mini before?!?

It has existed in various forms since 2005!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini
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Dude, theres more internal space cubic inches wise, in a mac mini than there is in the current macbook pro. So THINK about that.

I find that VERY hard to believe. Prove it.

 

[Stephen.R]

You can pick up another 24” imac for a song and upgrade the drive to ssd and put more memory in. We keep all the old foggies (the machines, not people ) on el cap. Our 2009 mac mini bore a second life with those 2 upgrades. Hell, my 2011 home made pc got a second life with the same upgrade.

Probably a much more realistic option if I lived in the same country as them. It's hard enough doing software remote support for them, organising a 2nd hand machine and then upgrades from here would be almost impossible.

The 2014-spec mini will keep them going for a while, for them the spinning rust isn't even 'slow'.

 

[MacWorld78]

Fair or not, it's Apple's business model. I am not overly thrilled with it but I may still buy a Mac again.

I understand, certainly, I think they are get away with it while they can until the sales start to decline steep downhill - I bet they have a backup plan to keep you guys happy.

I think it's time for Tim Cook to step down, we need open mind CEO who will follow the fair business practices once for all - that will keep things lively for many years to come.

 

[gavroche]

If I file papers now, my divorce from Apple should be complete by 2020. Apple's fallen too short. No graphics card, the unforgiveable 128GB and the recent MacBook pro issues. It's been fun, but we're done.

Well... to borrow your analogy, why did u ever get married to Apple?
The grass may look better on the other side of the fense... but anyone that thinks any option is without its own issues is mistaken.

 

[BigBoy2018]

Welcome to Planet Earth!!!

Never seen a Mac mini before?!?

It has existed in various forms since 2005!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini
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I find that VERY hard to believe. Prove it.

Look at the dimensions of each and do the math. The outer shell of the mini is about 83 cubic inches, the macbook pro is about 79 cubic inches ... and THAT includes the SCREEN!!!

 

[Necross]

I for one like what they're doing with the mini .. going to be picking one up for myself, but decided to wait for black friday to see if there's any sales. Planning on going with the i7 w/ 256 gb ssd, and the ram I will update separately myself, probably to 16 gb

 

[gavroche]

Where is a $499/$599 configuration for the casual users and Windows switchers??

Haha... that sounds way to much like a Crack dealer giving away free samples. Get em hooked, then hit em with the real costly stuff.
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Prove it will throttle. Point me to a review that shows it throttling.

Notice that he was at the same time complaining about thermal throttling, and complaining about not having better graphics card. I guess he doesn't realize that even if the throttling were true, putting dedicated graphics in there would only make the problem worse. lol

 

[obiwan]

People like me who have been all but praying for the Mac mini quad core to come back since the day they’re killed it in 2014.

The Mac mini was two machines — intro/switcher and headless workhorse. In 2014 they killed the workhorse, to great cries of agony from its user base. In 2018 they brought it back, and I am definitely getting one — but in the process they killed the switcher machine. Why? Maybe they saw that it wasn’t doing what it was intended to do — maybe because they let it get so stale.

I must admit, I never really bought into the whole entry level switcher machine thing. This may have been Apple's original vision for the product, but I'd hazard a guess that the majority of the Mini user base are not PC switchers. Apple have repeatedly shown that they don't sell cheap rubbish, and have positioned themselves as a luxury brand. With bargain basement PC's in a race towards the bottom, it's a market that Apple has no interest in trying to compete in.